Treatment of chronic dermatophytosis and chronic oral candidosis with itraconazole.

Itraconazole was evaluated in patients with forms of superficial fungal infection that were previously unresponsive to treatment. Two groups of patients were treated, those with chronic dermatophytosis caused by Trichophyton rubrum affecting the body (10) or palm (five) and those with chronic oral candidosis (eight). All of the patients with dermatophytosis achieved complete remission in a mean period of 9.1 weeks, with three subsequent relapses. Seven patients with oral candidosis had originally presented with chronic mucocutaneous candidosis; recurrent or persistent oral candidosis had developed after initially successful treatment with ketoconazole. All of the patients with chronic oral candidal infections responded to itraconazole after a mean treatment period of 5.4 weeks, with two subsequent relapses. These results indicate that itraconazole is effective in treating these recalcitrant superficial mycoses and should be assessed in a larger unselected group of patients and compared with alternative drugs.